Environmental awareness is no doubt on the rise, and that’s largely thanks to people with a platform and a strong voice, like YouTuber Mr. Beast.

If you regularly tune into YouTube, you may have heard of Mr Beast planting 20 million trees by 2020, with the help of anyone who can donate to the cause.

The way it works is simple. Donate $1 to The Arbor Day FoundationTeam Trees project, and they’ll plant 1 tree. Donate $2 and they’ll plant 2 trees, and so on.

According to Mr. Beast, this is an effort to not only raise awareness but to take action at a time when action is desperately needed.

Today, The Arbor Day Foundation has raised over $18,000,000 thanks to the efforts of Mr. Beast, and many other YouTubers who have promoted the cause, like education channel SmarterEveryDay, news channel Philip DeFranco, entertainment channel Jacksepticeye, Tech reviewer and visual effects expert CG Geek, and so, so many more. It even gained the attention of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk who pledged $1,000,000 from his own pocket to the cause...with a little nudge from the tech influencer Marcus Brownlee.

But how did this movement start?

YouTubers tend to celebrate certain milestones for their channel’s growth. Mr. Beast had been fast approaching a rather enormous milestone in his channel’s growth, 20 million subscribers. His fans suggested that to celebrate reaching 20 million subscribers, Mr. Beast should plant 20 million trees by 2020.

So, on the 25th of October 2019, Jimmy (Mr. Beast) announced in a video on his YouTube channel that he will be planting 20 million trees by 2020, through the help of his fans and fellow YouTubers.

To make this enormous goal possible, Mr. Beast has partnered with the largest non-profit tree-planting organisation in the world, The Arbor Day Foundation.

The Arbor Day Foundation and its partners are professional tree-planters who have planted hundreds of millions of trees. They have the expertise to ensure a high rate of survivability because it’s unfortunately not as simple as just planting a tree. Trees need to be carefully planted in the correct conditions in order for them to survive. If you want to learn more about what The Arbor Day Foundation is doing to ensure a high survivability rate, check out YouTuber SmarterEveryDay’s video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bsuXsxX950) where he does a deep dive into the world of tree-planting!

You might be wondering, what exactly will planting 20 million trees do for the planet. To find out, check out the video at the top of the article by The Infographics Show on YouTube, where they talk about the potential effect of a $1 donation.

We should all hold ourselves to a high standard when it comes to protecting our planet.

More and more companies are making efforts to reduce their carbon footprint, and QDOS are no exception. In line with their values, QDOS have made some internal changes to lower their overall carbon footprint, and have even developed an iPhone 11 case that’s 100% biodegradable. This case takes only 1 year to fully decompose in the correct conditions, compared to 100+ years for regular plastic.

“As a company that produces and ships product, we felt it our duty and responsibility to ensure we’re doing what we can to reduce our carbon footprint company-wide.” says QDOS CEO and founder, Susan Lazareff.

A small effort made by a large group of people quickly adds up to a big difference, a point that has been wonderfully demonstrated by the #TeamTrees movement.

Remember, when you add up everyone’s small efforts, it makes a huge impact. Whether it’s donating to a cause, or making changes in your life to reduce your carbon footprint, every small action equates to a big difference.